STATE-owned arms maker Denel was on Wednesday evening trying to establish the circumstances of the deaths of three of its staff employed in the United Nations compound in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Two South African staff members and one Somali worker died during a deadly assault carried out on the compound by Islamist militants on Wednesday, an attack that dealt a blow to fragile security gains that have allowed a slow return of foreign aid workers and diplomats to the country.

Somali Interior Minister Abdikarim Hussein Guled said four foreign UN security staff and four local guards were killed in a drawn-out gun battle that left seven insurgent fighters dead. A UN spokesman said casualty numbers were still being verified.

Denel spokeswoman Vuyelwa Qinga said: “Although the details are sketchy at this stage, we can confirm that we have tragically lost two of our staff.” She said Denel could not reveal their identities as it had not yet informed their families.

Denel said its staff in Somalia belonged to a contingent of personnel from Mechem — its specialist mine-protection and demining subsidiary — and were providing camp management services to the UN operations in the region, which included the provision of catering, cleaning and logistical support as well as mine-protected vehicles.

The company’s remaining employees in Somalia have been moved to facilities under the protection of the UN Office for Project Services.

The incident comes amid efforts by Mechem involving the highest channels in the UN and the Senegalese government to free the remaining five of 12 demining employees taken hostage in southern Senegal last month.

The intervention already led to the release of seven staff members alive and well two weeks ago.

Mechem is the only African firm to be accredited with the UN as a demining company. It has been deployed in the Casamance region in Senegal since August in 2012. The abducted staff — all Senegalese citizens — were believed to have been kidnapped by rebels.

Wednesday’s assault in Mogadishu, claimed by Islamist al-Shabaab, began before midday when a car bomb exploded outside the UN Development Programme base.

Rebel gunmen then forced their way into the compound and battled security guards.

The African Union peacekeeping force, which sent soldiers and armoured vehicles to the site, said the compound, which houses several buildings, was under the control of friendly troops after a gunfight that lasted more than 90 minutes.

It was the first notable attack on UN premises by al-Shabaab since it was driven out of Mogadishu in fighting with African Union and Somali government forces about two years ago.

With Reuters

Source: BDLive